I didn't start Red Rock Tileworks to be the biggest tile maker in America. I started it because I knew I was good at art, and I needed to make it.
After art school, I interviewed at tile companies. I had a vision. I had skills. But nobody wanted an art school grad in production. So I moved to Colorado, worked the ski slopes for a few years, and tried to ignore the feeling that I was missing my calling. But you can only run from yourself for so long. I went to Coverings, saw what was possible, and decided to take the leap.
Those first years were intoxicating. I signed my dream clients. I thought I was going to change the tile industry. And then the recession hit. Companies I'd modeled my business after — bigger, more established, with real infrastructure — started closing their doors. I was terrified.
But being small saved me. I didn't have massive overhead or debt. I ran Red Rock on cash, scaled back when I needed to, and kept going. It was hard. It was uncertain. But it taught me something crucial: sustainability matters more than ambition.
The other challenge nobody talks about is the clay itself. Ceramics is unpredictable. When I open the kiln, it's Christmas morning — glazes interact with clay in ways you can't fully control, and there's pure joy in that surprise. But when you're trying to produce thousands of consistent tiles, that spontaneity becomes a source of real frustration. You have to dial in your process, your ingredients, your team, so everyone produces consistent results within reason.
Twenty years ago, people didn't understand handmade tile. They wanted perfection — machine perfection. They didn't see the beauty in variation; they saw imperfection. But the culture shifted. Designers and clients started valuing what human hands can do. They started seeking out the things that prove these aren't cookie-cutter boxes off a shelf. They started wanting craft.
That shift changed everything.
A few years in, I stopped wanting to be the biggest. I wanted to be the best at one thing: being a creative partner for something bespoke, something custom, something you can't find anywhere else. I built a Rolodex of designers I admire, and I send them ideas — not catalog pages, but inspiration. Because my job is to help them create a feeling in a space.
Last week, we got written up in the Tennessean for Zagarat House. That project broke square foot records by nearly triple because the design choice was the business decision. It happened because the designers — Lyon Porter and Jamie Pfeffer — trusted that I was the only person who could execute something truly special. That I understood their vision as a creative partner, not just a vendor.
That trust didn't come overnight. It came from twenty years of showing up, staying committed to quality, surviving the hard years, and building a reputation for doing work that matters.
Now I finally get to be what I started out to be: an artist. Not just a businesswoman — though I love that too — but a true creative partner for designers who see what I see. That beautiful, handmade, one-of-a-kind tile isn't a luxury detail. It's the decision that changes everything.
Twenty years of work built this. Twenty years of staying small on purpose, staying true to the craft even when the market didn't fully understand it yet. Twenty years of my team showing up every single day and doing the work.
And I'm just getting started.
Red Rock Tileworks is a woman-owned handmade ceramic tile studio based in Nashville, TN. If you're a designer working on a hospitality or residential project that deserves something truly bespoke, we'd love to be your creative partner. Start with our Pick 5 Color Sample Box — five handmade samples from over 80 glazes, shipped in one week for just $10.